The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) recently participated in international meetings and discussions of relevance to the ferry sector.
At first, CFA attended (April 27-May 5) a meeting of the Human Training Element and Watchkeeping Subcommittee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Canadian government included the Canadian Ferry Association's CEO as an observer with the Canadian delegation. In this case, there were discussions on issues related to women in the marine sector, training and certification of crews.
CFA also had meetings with other organizations such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (of which Canada is a member) and the International Labour Organization. In these meetings, CFA discussed issues such as:
Our association's CEO also attended (June 5-14) a meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO as part of the Canadian delegation first then as part of Interferry's delegation. Our CEO spoke on behalf of Interferry, and the Canadian ferry sector, to support China's proposal to have IMO look at domestic ferry safety. We also voiced our concern on other measures related to life jackets. Finally we also attended and participated in the development of voluntary IMO guidance on marine autonomous surface ships trials.
Canada functions in an increasingly interconnected world. Developments thousands of kilometres away may have a real impact on operations in Canada. CFA is taking measures to monitor regulatory changes and developments happening in other countries and international organizations.
